Quercus phellos. 
xe2x80x98QPSTAxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Quercus phellos, Willow Oak, which has been given the varietal name xe2x80x98QPSTA.xe2x80x99
The original tree of this new Willow Oak variety was discovered in 1994 as a chance seedling growing in a cultivated area of a nursery in Oconee County, Ga. It had been purchased as a 12 to 18 inch liner in the spring of 1989 and at that time was planted in a liner field. This tree was transplanted to another field in the spring of 1992 where it was subsequently discovered. In the spring of 1998 this tree was transplanted to an observation area where it has remained since that time. It is now about 12 years old from a seed. The description of this new Willow Oak variety is based on observations of this original tree and of asexually propagated progeny, produced from softwood cuttings, which are about five years old and which are being grown at a nursery in Oconee County, Ga.
Common Willow Oak trees are typically large deciduous trees with a dense crown having an oblong-oval to rounded shape at maturity, generally reaching about 40 to 60 feet high and about 30 to 40 feet wide at maturity, though the largest trees may reach 100 feet in height with an equal spread. Willow Oaks are native to floodplains and adjacent slopes, bottomlands, and rich uplands in a geographic range beginning on the Eastern seaboard from New York to Florida, stretching west to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Willow Oaks grow best in moist, well-drained soils, but adapt well to harsh environmental conditions, and are therefore one of the best oaks for the heat, drought, and humidity of the Southeast, while still readily adaptable to the more arid Midwest. Willow Oak species are typically hardy in USDA Zones 5-9, performs best in zones 6-8, and can survive temperatures as low as xe2x88x9225 degrees Fahrenheit (e.g., in Cincinnati, Ohio). Insofar as I am aware, Willow Oak trees which are commercially available are grown from seedling material, creating a high degree of variability in the industry, both in landscape situations and nurseries. Seedling Willow Oak trees are variable in growth rate and habit, typically lack a central leader, and tend to be open in youth.
This new Willow Oak variety is distinguished from other Willow Oaks known to the inventor by the following unique combination of characteristics: dense, narrow-pyramidal branching habit; dense canopy; dominant central leader; and relatively fast growth rate. When discovered in 1994, the original tree of this new variety was approximately 25% larger than other Willow Oak trees planted at the same time in the same group of seedlings.
In 1996, the original tree of this new Willow Oak variety was successfully propagated by softwood cuttings at my direction. This asexual reproduction was accomplished in Bulloch County, Ga. The progeny have demonstrated that the novel characteristics of this new variety are fixed, stable, and reproduce true to type through asexual propagation. These observations confirm that xe2x80x98QPSTAxe2x80x99 represents a new, distinct, and improved variety of Willow Oak as particularly evidenced by the combination of characteristics described above (dense, narrow-pyramidal branching habit, dense canopy, dominant central leader, and relatively fast growth rate), and which can be asexually propagated reliably using vegetative propagation techniques. Additionally, the progeny, as of this time and growing in Oconee County Ga. have exhibited an annual caliper growth rate of about 1.25 inches per year, compared to an average common Willow Oak seedling growth rate of only about 1 inch per year.
This new variety is particularly suited for use as a street tree and for filling large, open areas such as golf courses, commercial sites, and parks. This new Willow Oak variety provides a uniform, structurally sound tree, and its rapid growth rate will benefit growers who will profit from a faster growing variety of Willow Oak.